BACKGROUND INFORMATION YARRALUMLA WOOLSHED AND OUTBUILDINGS … · 2016-09-20 · November 2015 . 1 . BACKGROUND INFORMATION . YARRALUMLA WOOLSHED AND OUTBUILDINGS (Blocks 1144 and

November 2015

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION YARRALUMLA WOOLSHED AND OUTBUILDINGS

(Blocks 1144 and 1201 Weston Creek)

At its meeting of 19 November 2015, the ACT Heritage Council decided that the Yarralumla Woolshed and Outbuildings was eligible for registration.

The information contained in this report was considered by the ACT Heritage Council in assessing the nomination for the Yarralumla Woolshed and Outbuildings against the heritage significance criteria outlined in s10 of the Heritage Act 2004.

HISTORY

The Ngunnawal people are traditionally affiliated with the lands within the Canberra region. In this citation, ‘Aboriginal community’ refers to the Ngunnawal people and other Aboriginal groups within the ACT who draw significance from the place. Whilst the term ‘Aboriginal community’ acknowledges these groups in the ACT, it is recognised that their traditional territories extend outside contemporary borders. These places attest to a rich history of Aboriginal occupation. Ethnographic and historical information locates Aboriginal people within the region from the time of early European occupation through to the 1870s and 1880s. Traditional Aboriginal society in Canberra during the nineteenth century suffered from dramatic depopulation and alienation from traditional land based resources, although some important social institutions like intertribal gatherings and corroborees were retained to a degree at least until the 1860s.

The first land grant that covers the Woolshed area was granted in 1828 to Henry Donnison in the standard format of the time as an area of four square miles with 1 mile of river frontage. Donnison appears to have not improved the land as it was sold to William Dawes in 1831 in its “virgin state”. In 1833 the land was purchased by Francis Mowatt, extending his holdings, named “Yarrowlumla”, from across the river. It was Mowatt, a keen hunter, who built the first substantial homestead on the site in the form of a stone hunting lodge. (Wilmot, 2004)

In 1837 the property was purchased by the partnership of Terrence Aubrey Murray and his silent partner Thomas Walker. Walker eventually sold his share to Murray with payments being spread over a number of years. Murray moved his family to Yarralumla in 1843 to establish the homestead as his primary holding, but after the deaths of three of his children, they moved out in 1855, leaving his brother-in-law, Augustus Gibbes as overseer. (Wilmot, 2004)

Blair et al (1988) note that during Murray’s time at Yarralumla he was intimately involved in the wool washing and shearing. He had a stone dam constructed in a river below the homestead that supplied water for the wool washing process. John Clarke’s 1910-1913 Yarralumla Paddocks maps (Figure 3) and descriptions shows a ‘Washpen” paddock along Weston Creek and further up the creek is “Rockfords” paddock, although the descriptions he provides show no indication of any of these features in the paddocks at that time. It is not clear when the earlier woolshed was built or demolished, or even exactly where it was located, but it is likely to have been in or near the Washpen paddock as the early practice of washing the sheep before shearing usually occurred close to the woolshed (Hobbs, 1993a: 8-9). It is also clear that the old woolshed was within walking distance of the new shed as a function in the old shed was invited to inspect the nearby new shed while it was being built (Queanbeyan Age 9 May 1905 p.2). Although there is no evidence of the earlier wool processing evident on site, Murray’s diary entries indicate that it was a large and important part of the industry of the property. Marshall et al (2014:24) note that the 1841 Census shows that Murray was employing 108 people at Yarralumla.

By 1858 Murray had come to an agreement with his brother-in-law so that Gibbes could purchase the property on very favourable terms, where Gibbes could pay off the low purchase price using the profits of the farm. It only took

BACKGROUND INFORMATION – YARRALUMLA WOOLSHED AND OUTBUILDINGS

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Gibbes a few years to meet the terms of the sale and then he set about adding to the property, amassing an estate of over 26,000 acres, although he did little to improve the large tracts of land he had purchased. (Wilmot, 2004)

Frederick Campbell purchased the expanded property from Gibbes in 1881, using the profits from selling his previous property as well as some financial backing from family. He moved into the Mowatt-era hunting lodge and immediately started a program of improvements, such as clearing and draining marshy paddocks, and a series of purchases of neighbouring properties to consolidate the holdings into a single uninterrupted estate. (Wilmot, 2004)

In 1881, a decade after purchasing the property, Campbell built the first part of his 3-storey Yarralumla homestead, today Government House, extending it in 1891 and adding several outbuildings throughout the years, leaving no trace of the old hunting lodge (Marshall, et al, 2014:24).

After he had established his homestead and consolidated and improved the land, Campbell set about building a new, larger and improved woolshed in 1904. He designed the shed himself based on his intimate knowledge of every aspect of wool production and incorporated all the latest technological developments of the time, such as Wolsely shearing machines and steam power. The builder was Frederick Young, who Campbell had used to build the homestead earlier (Banyard, 2011; Welch, 2012). The wood for the Woolshed was sourced locally, Blair et al (1988:35) note that the posts used in constructing the woolshed came from two sources – “...some of this timber was supplied by the Ginn family and the remainder was cut by experienced station hands at nearby Weston Creek.”

The associated outbuildings complied with the Shearers’ Accommodation Act 1901 with 12 shearers’ rooms, presumably with two shearers per room, which did not open onto the adjoining kitchen and dining areas, a meat safe, separate cooks and rouseabouts accommodation as well as pens for the workers’ horses. These are located well over the minimum 50 yards distance from the shed/work area.

John Clarke’s 1910-1913 paddock maps and descriptions of Yarralumla show the Yarralumla Woolshed located in the “Clump of Trees” paddock. The associated description notes that it contained:

• Woolshed and huts valued at £1,877 • Blue stone paving 38x20 yards • 3 room slab hut, bark roof, fowl shed • Tank services sheep dip via 2” pipe • Dips are 1 chain in length, 6’ wide on top and 3’ wide at the bottom and 6’ deep

A more detailed description of the buildings can be found in Moriarty’s 1912 valuation (transcribed from Marshall et al 2014:26):

• Woolshed: Built on dry seasoned box piles 6' off ground, iron roof & sides 11' high 40 x 100 x 54 x 63, grating floor 75 x 36. Lean to each side of 18’ x 75’ board floor. Engine & experts room 75 x 15; all finished oregon, studs 2x5.

• 1st class [condition] £1,500 [value] • Hut: Caretakers at Woolshed, slab sides, iron roof, board floor, slab and brick chimney. Inferior [condition]. 2

rooms & verandah 10 x 30 [verandah?] 6 x 30 unfloored. £20 [value]. • Shearers’ Accommodation House: Iron sides & roof, cement floor, 1 brick & bake oven. Good [condition].

Kitchen 18 x 18 x 12, Dining room 18 x 33 x 12 high, 6 cubicles each side, 44 x 33 with verandah each side, pantry 6 x 9. £250 [value].

• Rouseabouts Sleeping Hut: Iron roof and sides, wood floor, partitioned, 3 doors, 3 windows. Good [condition]. 16 x 40 x 9 high. £30 [value].

• Rouseabouts Kitchen: Attached, iron on brick foundation, brick chimney & bakers oven. Good [condition]. 14 x 12 x 9. £30 [value].

After the compulsory acquisition of Yarralumla by the Commonwealth in 1913 the woolshed was overseen by the Yarralumla Woolshed Committee to continue its important role in shearing the surrounding properties’ flocks. The committee was disbanded at the end of 1930. During the first World War and much of the 1920s, the Woolshed was partitioned and used as temporary accommodation for workers when it was not required for shearing. (Roberts, 1988:53). From the 1920s through to the 1960s it was leased out to various individuals or business interests (Marshall et al 2014:31).


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As reported in The Canberra Times on 30 May of 1944 (p.2) the Department of the Interior proposed to sell the Woolshed, a move which was opposed by the ACT rural lessees as they would be at a severe disadvantage without public access to the woolshed and were not in a position to purchase the lease as a group or to build their own small sheds. By 2 June 1944, The Canberra Times (p.2) made it known that the accommodation at the Woolshed did not meet the Rural Workers’ Accommodation Ordinance 1927 (this later ordinance required more generous spaces and several other provisions that applied to all workers and not just shearers, as opposed to the earlier Shearers’ Accommodation Act 1901) and that the Department would be in breach of the law if they continued operating without appropriate upgrades, or that they would be unfairly passing this burden on to an unsuspecting buyer. A follow-up article on 15 June 1944 reported that the Department had withdrawn the Woolshed from sale, stating that no satisfactory tenders had been received, but also putting in to question the future of the Woolshed with suggestions that it may be knocked down instead.

Despite repeated threats over the years that it would be demolished, the Woolshed continued to be used and leased out to local farmers. The equipment at the shed has been replaced on several occasions, from the initial steam power to kerosene engines to electric motors. At the Woolshed’s 60th year of operation, the then lessees, a syndicate of local farmers operating under Yarralumla Pty Ltd, estimated that over 1.5million sheep had been sheared in the Woolshed, with at least 12,000 going through that year (The Canberra Times 20 November 1964:9).

The outbuildings have been leased to the Canberra Lakes Pony Club since 1970, while the paddocks around it have been used as an equestrian park from 1962-1963, around the same time that Lake Burley Griffin (LBG) was filling. Part of the changes occurring around this time was a series of landscaping around the lake, including the Yarralumla area as it was made into a more scenic imagining of a rural landscape. This landscaping creates a more sheltered setting for the woolshed (in contrast to the stark cleared landscape that existed prior to 1968 which was typical for woolsheds). . (Marshall et al, 2014:31)

The current landscape surrounding the Woolshed in Block 1201 Weston Creek, was largely designed and created by the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) post-1968. It was developed as an equestrian park in consultation with equestrian groups. The existing shelter belt plantings of Frederick Campbell and the 1960s plantings of the NCDC were retained, although these consisted mostly of border plantings along the waterways and were not extensive. It was noted at the ACT Advisory Council Meeting on 20 January 1964 that “...general shelter belt planting of evergreens including conifers and eucalypts has been supplemented by shade tree planting of deciduous species such as poplars, oaks and elms.”

This was part of an overall landscape plan in which the planting around the woolshed was undertaken at the same time as the development of Lady Denman Drive. These initial works were associated with the development of the Lake Burley Griffin landscape and the Open Space System by the NCDC. Lady Denman Drive was being developed as a low-speed recreational drive amenity and the landscape of the woolshed environs was designed as open parkland in the picturesque manner (vistas, gentle earth contouring, clumps of trees and clean expression of the ground plain in-between). In his memoirs, Richard Clough noted the NCDC landscaping of Government House and the great pains they went to to preserve privacy, saying, “Informal tree planting was continued along Lady Denman Drive linking with that on either side to create a broad landscape dominated by elms and poplars. This landscape provided an attractive setting for the old woolshed, especially in autumn.” (Clough, 2004:18-19). This is a good example of NCDC's landscape architect Richard Clough to soften the previously bare gridded rural property to its new use as city amenity. (NCDC, 1965:22-23; and Firth, 2000: 194)

“We were attempting to retain the rural landscape as the proper setting for the capital of Australia and at the same time create recreation opportunities for both residents and visitors. While it was clear the certain activities had to be accommodated in the rural area we were determined to site them and control their development.” (Clough, 2004:74)

In 1958 Captain Walter Herbert Eddison started campaigning for an equestrian park for Canberra, but it was not until four years later in late 1962 that the Department of the Interior allocated an area to the south of the Woolshed for this purpose. In 1968 the equestrian park was expanded by the addition of surrounding blocks, including block 625 to the north, including the Woolshed (for all intents and purposes, current block 1201). The NCDC consulted with equestrian groups to develop the area as a cross-country course; and it is the NCDC landscape architect Alan Wilson’s 1968 landscape plan (L.103/68) that forms the basis of the current landscaping on block 1201. This plan can be seen in Figure 7, with the pre-1968 plantings highlighted. The proposed plantings consisted of Canary Island Pine, Stone Pine, Lombardy Poplar, Shademaster Honey Locust, South Esk Pine, White Cedar, Weeping Willow and Yellowbox.


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This fits in with the general NCDC landscaping plan for the area, which for below Scrivener Dam consisted of poplars, willows, elms and pines (Dept. of the Interior, 1972:12).

Richard Clough, in commenting on the retention of old buildings during the development of the ACT states that, “In principle I believe in retaining old buildings as long as they do not interfere with the rational use of an area and as long as a sensible use can be found for them. I will note here that Keith Storey, in his master plans and the neighbourhood planners in the designs followed this practice adding the buildings into the fabric of the city and the Surveyors Hut on Capital Hill, St Ninians Church and the Old Canberra Inn, and into its open space the Yarralumla Woolshed and the farm buildings at Duntroon.” (Clough, 2004:46) So, while the 1968 landscape plan noted that the Woolshed was the “future site for rangers residence”, the plan had taken into account the building as it stood, in the same way the landscaping around Blundell’s Cottage (also earmarked for demolition at the time) had been planned.

The ACT Equestrian Association (ACTEA) has dedicated considerable resources into developing the area since the 1970s. This has included constructing a series of jumps, trails and ground improvements. They have also consulted with the ACT Government (and the Commonwealth before self government) on other major works, fencing, roads, maintenance, grassing, etc. Considerable work has also occurred on other blocks that form the rest of equestrian park. These works have mostly occurred in the open grassed areas of the landscape, with even the most significant ground works, such as the drainage and fill works on the flat areas adjacent to Yarralumla Creek, having little effect on the overall planned landscape of the block.

In 1927, Governor-General Lord Stonehaven stated that the Woolshed should be preserved as a reminder of a great Australian industry (Clark, 1988:153), a statement that was echoed many decades later when the Governor-General Sir Paul Hasluck noted that it was one of the more successful buildings in the National capital during a speech at the Centenary Convention of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 1971.

Marshall et al (2014:54) conducted interviews with the property manager who noted that the 2010-2011 financial year had 41 venue hirers, which was mainly private functions (18th and 21st birthdays, wedding receptions, reunions, and club events) with 100-150 people attending each event. It was also noted that the Monaro Folk Society hold bush dances there and see it as a complimentary venue to promote Australia’s intangible heritage of bush songs and dance. Additionally, it has been used as a subject by various artists and photographers over the years as evidenced by collections at the National Library of Australia as well as various online sources, e.g. Flickr, as advertising for wedding photographers, etc.

Woolsheds in Australia

The Australian woolshed as a type has become linked to a national identity of ‘outback Australia’ – they are the embodiment of the Australian vernacular form (Hobbs, 1993a: 29-31). The wider community values for woolsheds are not usually attached to any particular place, but rather to an ideal rural past when ‘Australia rode on the sheep’s back’. The wider community’s valuing of woolsheds, unlike local community values, is not dependant on the shed being a currently working and profitable shed. The form of the shed itself is evocative of the past and is valued for this; additionally, the wider community is able to gain a better appreciation for non-working sheds as they are more accessible, particularly those that have been adaptively reused for community facilities. While there is an intangible community value for woolsheds as a type, each specific shed needs to be assessed for a direct community value rather than a general appreciation for the type.

The connection of the national psyche to woolsheds has been strengthened through the arts. The importance of the woolshed and surrounding landscape was often used by colonial artists such as John Glover, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Hans Heysen who worked during the pastoral boom of the 19th century, romanticised the Australian outback and the rural workers (Hobbs, 1993b: 5). Woolsheds have been important features in Australian cinema such as Sunday Too Far Away (1975), The Sundowners (1960), Ned Kelly (1970), and Australia (2008). Additionally, shearing has been ingrained in most Australian children with the folk song Click Go the Shears which dates back to at least 1891 under the title The Bare Belled Ewe (Bacchus Marsh Express 5 December 1891: 7).

Hobbs (1993: 31) notes that woolsheds are able to stand alone and can exist isolated from their context to a degree. Woolsheds can continue to be used for shearing activities long after the owners have left the land as long as access is available for shearers and sheep. He uses this as an argument that the buildings are prone to change, but have the ability to stand alone if appropriately managed. Hobbs’ arguments are focused on woolsheds that have retained their original use, however many of these sheds are able to retain heritage value even after they have been adaptively


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reused. There are several examples of woolsheds in the ACT that have been removed from their rural context and/or pastoral use, but have increased community access for other purposes: the Kambah Woolshed has been incorporated as a barbeque area into a community centre; the Straithnairn Woolshed is used as a venue for the Straithnairn Arts Association for hosting events and workshops; the Glenburn Woolshed features in educational tours run by the Friends of Glenburn; and, as already noted, the Yarralumla Woolshed has been used as a community facility from the early 1970s. While all of these places have lost some of what makes woolsheds valued, they have gained a greater community appreciation through greater access and adaptive reuse.

Comparative assessment shows that the Yarralumla Woolshed was not an ordinary design. Hobbs’(1993: 27-28) analysis of ACT woolsheds defined a ‘typical’ woolshed a single storey bush pole building clad in corrugated iron, sitting on timber stump foundations that raises the floor level. It has extensions to accommodate new technology or processes, with newer sections often built with sawn timbers and more modern building techniques, e.g. balloon frames and it has a footprint of ~250m2. While clad in corrugated iron and featuring the same functional areas as typical sheds, Yarralumla Woolshed had a much larger number of stands and associated pens, the under floor area was significantly larger and taller, it was built to purpose for use with mechanical shearing so few alterations have had to be made to incorporate new equipment and it has a floor area in excess of 1,300m2.

The significance of the place is heavily influenced by the buildings existing as a group; while the woolshed and the outbuildings have some degree of significance individually, they are most effective as a group. If one aspect of the group were to disappear, the significance of the whole, while not destroyed, would be significantly diminished (Philip Cox & Partners, 1982:48).

People Associated with the Woolshed and Outbuildings

Frederick Arthur Campbell was the grandson of Robert Campbell who established the Duntroon estate. Frederick accepted his uncle George Campbell’s offer to manage Duntroon in 1875 and instigated an unpopular regime of fencing the property to better control it – a practice that soon became the norm. Frederick left by 1882 when the death of George led to the ownership of Duntroon being awarded to Colonel John E. R. (Jack) Campbell, whom Frederick did not get along with. He moved into his recently purchased Yarralumla property and instigated a consolidation, improvements and building regime similar to what he had been doing at Duntroon. One of the last major buildings he constructed was the Woolshed and outbuildings, which he designed himself. Frederick Campbell was heavily involved in the early Canberra community and his success and farming practices had a major influence on the development of early Canberra.

Frederick John Young was a self-taught builder and has been responsible for or worked on several buildings in Duntroon, the Queanbeyan gaol and post office among several others in the town, and he was also the builder for the majority of Frederick Campbell’s Yarralumla estate, including the Woolshed. He continued to work in the region including the construction of the Lanyon homestead and later was to become Foreman of Works Federal Capital Territory, which included overseeing the laying of the Foundation Stone in 1913.

Richard Vest was Frederick Campbell’s overseer at Yarralumla from 1864. He was only 18 at the time and was relatively unexperienced, Campbell training him on the job. When the Commonwealth acquired Yarralumla, Vest stayed on as the caretaker.

The McInnes family has had a long association with the Woolshed. Andy McInnes was shearing there in the 19th Century and the family company, McInnes Bros., were granted the shearing lease for many years in the first half of the 20th Century. The family have been prominent in the region through their role in shearing and pastoralism in the region as well as through other business dealings.

William ‘Deucem’ Smith was a legendary shearer who was the first indigenous person to be included in the Shearers Hall of Fame. He actively worked in the region and was known to have sheared at the Woolshed.

As the Woolshed was historically joined to the homestead and is today overlooked by the renamed, Government House, it has come under the purview of many Governors-General. Governor-General Lord Stonehaven in 1927 said that the woolshed should be preserved as a reminder of a great Australian industry; a statement was echoed many decades later when the Governor-General Sir Paul Hasluck noted that it was one of the more successful buildings in the National capital and chided modern architects for building places that would not age as well.


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The NCDC was established in 1957 by the National Capital Development Act 1957 (Clth) and was responsible for the “Development of the City of Canberra as the National Capital of the Commonwealth, and for related purposes”. Operating from 1958 to 1989 the NCDC was responsible for the ACT’s planning, development and construction. It had a strong emphasis on landscape architecture in all aspects of the development of the ACT. Many notable people worked for the NCDC, including Richard Clough who was the first landscape architect employed by the NCDC when he started in 1959. He was responsible for design and implementation oversight for landscape projects. One of his first major tasks was the design and implementation of LBG and the surrounding landscape, the largest landscape architecture project in Australia’s history and one that has had a significant impact on the development of the ACT. The NCDC’s Tomorrow's Canberra (1970:69-71) shows the intention for the Woolshed to be part of the emerging metropolitan park system. The work was undertaken as part of the major open space system of LBG and surrounding parklands. Clough was particularly interested in heritage, being a member of the first ACT Heritage Council and a member of the National Trust.

Walter Herbert Eddison, later known as Captain Eddie, arrived in Australia in 1913 from Hampshire, England. Soon after arriving, World War One was declared and Walter joined the 6th Light Horse Regiment at Gallipoli. In 1915, he transferred to the 56th Battalion and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on the 1st March 1916. In November 1917, Eddison was stationed in France and promoted to the rank of Captain. He was wounded in France, spending a month in hospital after being gassed in June 1918. Eddison returned to Australia in December 1919 on the 'Orvieto' and was officially discharged on the 3rd January 1920. Upon his return he applied for a Soldier Settlement lease and was granted Woden Block 132 that was later expanded to Block 28A after he applied for additional land, stating that "I have a large family to maintain (3 sons) who are probably going on the land later." All three of Captain Eddison’s sons were killed in the Second World War and he left the land in 1954, but stayed in the ACT, moving to the suburb of Deakin with his wife and three daughters. He had a passion for horses and was instrumental in the creation of the equestrian park. He also campaigned for a memorial to the horse to form a part of the equestrian park, but the designs and fundraising had not come to fruition by the time of his death in 1966. (ACT Archives, 2015; and Libraries ACT, 2014)

The Canberra Lakes Pony Club (the Club) was formed in 1961 and has held the lease for the Woolshed’s outbuildings on block 1144 since 1970. The Club is a part of the Pony Club Association of NSW and aims to promote equestrian activities and culture to young people.

The ACT Equestrian Association (ACTEA) was formed in 1970 to represent all equestrians and equestrian groups in the ACT. According to their homepage (www.actea.asn.au), ACTEA’s main objectives are to:

1. Promote horse riding as a recognised healthy recreational activity; 2. Promote the development of equestrian facilities in the ACT; 3. Assist the efforts of affiliated associations and clubs to obtain and improve equipment and facilities; 4. Improve the standard of horsemanship in the ACT; 5. Promote the views of the equestrian public; 6. Encourage the support of equestrian activities by the Commonwealth and ACT Government and other

persons and organisation

In keeping with these objectives ACTEA has been actively involved in developing the equestrian park at Yarralumla in conjunction with the ACT Government (initially with the Commonwealth government). They have ensured that the place has remained a popular venue for the equestrian community by maintaining a high quality facility with up-to-date and relevant equipment, resulting in a 3-star, elite, international level equestrian facility.

DESCRIPTION

The place (Blocks 1144 and 1201, Weston Creek) consists of the Woolshed, the Outbuildings (Shearers’ Quarters, Rouseabouts’ Quarters and the Rouseabouts’ Kitchen) and the surrounding landscape (see Figure 1 and Figure 2).

Block 1201 is zoned Open Space (Park) under the National Capital Plan and is a designated Offset Management Area for the Golden Sun Moth. Also contained within the block is an equestrian cross country course, which forms part of the larger surrounding Equestrian Park.

The sub-floor area of the Woolshed has three different clusters of timber stumps correlating to the above functional areas with the areas below the board and southwest pens having the largest stumps that extend part way into the


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main floor as a wall, with two other clusters of different stumps under the wool room and the northwest pens; while this can be interpreted as evidence of a previous shed being built around, or materials being reused, it could also be the result of the stumps coming from different sources (Blair, et al. 1988:35; Marshall, et al. 2014: 19). Additionally, the under floor area is made up of a confusing post and rail pen system, some with bark sheeting that would normally be found on the outer sections occurring in the middle (Marshall, et al. 2014: 19).

Appendix C from Marshall et al (2014:119-121) contains a detailed description of each section of the woolshed, as follows:

IMMEDIATE SURROUNDS • Woolshed set in a grassed area • South – circular dirt track/drive, timber bollards

between entry track and Woolshed • East – track continues passed Woolshed, service

pits, pine plantings, concrete pad, picnic table • North – stone paving, drainage channel, open

views to north • West – stone paving, pine plantation • Fences – star picket and wire, timber corner posts • Paddocks – variety of horse jumps, timber

constructions, some excavated or benched-in; spoil/rubbish mounds; timber head wall near creek

WOOLSHED INTERIOR

Generally • Timber framed walls and roof clad with

corrugated iron

Wool Room • Timber floor (not original) • Steel rod reinforcing to roof trusses • Painted modern timber doors • Timber framed windows to north and east, several

layers of mesh, perspex/corrugated clear sheeting/Alsynite

• Glazed highlights • Lighting – emergency, fluorescent and flood

lighting • Surface mounted conduit/s • Distribution board

Board • Timber floor – concrete pad in floor to southern

end • Internal wall of timber posts, boarding, and

timber doors to pens – some doors panelled over with plywood – corrugated iron panel/cladding at high level

• Chutes panelled over with various materials – timber boards and plywood

• Multi-pane timber windows • Mesh covered openings/windows – some

reinforced, some mesh damaged • Remnant timber wall panelling with remnant

notices and tallies

• Fluorescent lights • GPOs

Catching Pens • Timber baton floor • Timber pens and gates • Some Chutes clad with plywood • Mesh covered highlights • Modern floodlights • Surface mounted conduit/s

North Holding Pens • As for catching pens • Stainless steel sink unit and bench with painted

timber backsplash • Lighting – fluorescents and industrial

Ablution Area • Concrete floor • Sheet metal clad stalls and ceramic toilets • Painted ledge and brace timber doors • Basins, mirrors and painted timber panels

WOOLSHED EXTERIOR

General • Corrugated iron clad walls, orientated

horizontally, and gabled roofs with three ridge vents

• Evidence of patching/replacement sheeting of walls, various types of fixings, and reuse of sheeting

South Elevation • Timber post and rail fence to sub-floor with mesh

covering • Painted timber double doors, paintwork

deteriorated • High level flywire/mesh window, mesh damaged • Lights – fluorescents and a flood light in a cage • Non-original timber stairs and ramp, concrete

landing with tactiles and drain • Remnant timber corner fence post • Downpipe disconnected • Painted notice on wall

East Elevation – Southern Section • Rust stains on wall cladding


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• ‘1979’ painted on wall • High level flywire/mesh window, mesh damaged,

corrugated iron sheeting over original mesh windows

• Posts to sub-floor, with mesh covering • Floodlight in cage fixed to wall • Section of ogee gutter and downpipe • Two x 9 pane timber windows • Chicken wire to eaves, exposed timber rafter ends

Southeast Skillion – Outer • Flat metal corner wall flashings • Unpainted timber gutter board and fascia • Quad gutter, downpipe discharges to ground • Concrete slab edge at base of wall, slab landing • Unpainted timber boarded door • Sewer pipes extend through wall, vent riser • Loose/lifting sections of skillion roof

Southeast Skillion – Inner • Painted timber top rail of wall visible • Two timber framed fixed glass windows • Ogee gutter, central downpipe angles across wall

to corner, need to check drainage • Sewer pipes and other drainage lines through wall • Southern half of double door panelled over • Flat metal corner wall flashing • Fluorescent light, motion sensor in cage • Painted timber board door, paintwork

deteriorated, hole in bottom of door – broken board

• Concrete slab landing • Roof iron very rusted, lifting section, sunken

section?, skylight

South Elevation – East Section – Upper • Timber fixed glass highlights • Painted timber panel above highlights

South Elevation – East Section – Lower • Painted timber board at top of wall • Ogee gutter with downpipe connection to inner

skillion gutter

East Elevation – Central Section • Gabled and skillion ends • Alsynite/clear sheeting over 4 high level windows,

timber sills • Electrical connection • Metal box on wall • Floodlight in cage • Two fluorescents, one surface mounted conduit • Long continuous painted timber board forming

sills for all four windows • Painted timber board door, paintwork

deteriorated, timber deteriorated

• Timber stair and landing, partly painted, mesh panels in balustrade, pipe handrail, concrete slab landing, timber posts a mixture of salt-treated pine and bush poles, paintwork deteriorated

• Sub-floor – posts, line of fencing set back from edge, mesh covering, pipe and mesh gate

North Elevation – East Section – Lower • Painted timber board at high level, paintwork

deteriorated • Ogee gutter, two downpipes missing • Two unpainted timber fixed glass windows – not

glazed but mesh only • Floodlight in cage • Fluorescent light • Painted timber board double doors, painted

timber architrave – paintwork deteriorated • Timber stair and landing, salt treated pine posts,

concrete steps and landing, rail and boards loose • Sub-floor – timber posts, mesh covering set back,

timber rails

North Elevation – East Section – Upper • As for south side • Corrugated iron boxed eaves • Upper roof very rusted, some lifting

East Elevation – North Section – Upper • Corrugated iron boxed eaves

East Elevation – North Section – Lower • Rust stains on wall sheeting • High level chicken wire mesh vent, some sections

panelled over with corrugated iron, mesh damaged

• Quad gutter, two downpipes, one not connected • Fluorescent light, surface mounted conduit • Roof very rusted, lifting/damaged • Sub-floor – timber posts, one salt treated pine

post, mesh covering set one row back

North Elevation – Central Section – Upper • Gabled wall, rust stains, some lifting sheeting • Roof very rusted

North Elevation – Central Section – Lower • Gabled elevation, sheeting lifting/damaged in

part, some rusting • Various ridge capping – flat metal sheet,

corrugated iron rolled over edge • Painted timber board door, paintwork

deteriorated • Fluorescent light • Sub-floor – timber posts, mesh set back from edge • Timber ramp


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West Elevation – North Section • Wall sheeting lifting in sections and some surface

rust • High level chicken wire vents, repaired with mesh

over-battened • Quad gutter and downpipe • Roof iron lifting • Sub-floor – timber posts and mesh covering • Small trees growing in sub-floor space

South Elevation – West Section • Non-original painted timber board double doors,

paintwork deteriorated • Sub-floor – timber posts with mesh covering • Timber landing and stairs, concrete landing, two

broken treads

West Elevation – South Section • High level continuous chicken wire vent, one

section repaired with mesh overbattened • Folded sheet metal gutter, two downpipes, one

not connected • Sub-floor – timber posts with mesh covering,

timber bottom rail deteriorated/loose • Roof rusted and lifting

OUTBUILDINGS

Shearers’ Quarters (Philip Cox & Partners, 1982:13): • Roof – green painted corrugated iron with some

sheets lifting and a small amount of paint peeling but generally in reasonable condition.

• Walls – corrugated galvanised iron in fair condition with corrugations orientated horizontally. New galvanised iron capping has been used for weather sealing on the corners.

• Timber – exposed timbers have been replaced where previous exposure had led to decay. Roof and wall members, where protected are sound.

• Doors – Heavily weathered with small cracks and gaps but generally in fair condition. The main front door is relatively new and is sound. A range of hardware exists with some remnants of the old hardware (which do not generally work) and a wide use of padbolts.

• Windows – most are non–existent having been smashed, boarded up or part covered up to protect them.

• Gutters and Downpipes – half round gutters supported by pin or straps still exist in some areas with most having been replaced.

• Ovens/chimney – the brick ovens are currently stabilised and in reasonable condition although earlier deterioration is evident. Several bricks at the top of the chimney are loose. Some decay from rising damp and falling damp has occurred but it is relatively minor

Rouseabouts’ Quarters (Philip Cox & Partners, 1982:24-29): • Roof – green painted corrugated iron, lifting in

some sections • Walls – corrugated galvanised iron of various sizes

with corrugations orientated horizontally. New galvanised iron capping has been used for weather sealing on the corners.

• Windows – all sealed over externally with end windows sealed internally as well

• Doors – Restored or replaced. Some original hardware remains, but in a poor state, mostly superseded by padbolts.

• Gutters and downpipes – replaced with new.

Rouseabouts’ Kitchen (Philip Cox & Partners, 1982:29): • Rough concrete floor laid over brick foundations,

crumbling in some areas. • Roof – green painted corrugated iron • Walls – corrugated galvanised iron with

corrugations orientated horizontally. New galvanised iron capping has been used for weather sealing on the corners.

• Brick oven and chimney – partly reconstructed yet in a poor state, suffering from rising and falling damp as well as vandalism. No flashing between chimney and building.

• No gutters or downpipes • Former window has been sealed over with

corrugated galvanised iron.


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Physical condition and integrity

Woolshed – Changes from the original design of the Woolshed have been noted by Marshall et al (2014: 39-40):

• shearing machinery, wool bins and other items removed, after 1969; • removal of the office in the corner of the wool room; • yards to the north and south, and a race to the west were removed after 1976; • stairs and ramp installed at southern end, replacing the original/earlier stairs and sheep ramp; • large northern door panelled over and reduced to single door’ • eastern door to the wool room reduced in size from double doors to single door; • new doors installed; • windows and open vent areas modified by covering with sheet metal or mesh; • the northern, upper gable appears to have been open/mesh, but was later overclad with iron leaving a small

window prior to the 1970s with the window being covered over after the 1970s; • internal wall between the board and pens modified with doors and chutes panelled over, and iron sheeting

mounted at a high level; • conversion of the engine and experts’ room to toilet facilities, and modifications to the southern windows

and eastern doorway; • small additional skillion-roofed extension to the southeast; • sink unit installed in pens area; • sub-floor area screened-in with mesh, and a gate installed; • underground tank immediately to the southeast removed; • removal of the large above ground tank on the north of the shed; and • the door and stairs in the corner between the east and north wings has been added since the 1970s • conduits for electricity and several lights have been added since the 1970s • reticulated water connected • hot water system added • the dip in the southeast has been removed

Landscape – A summary of apparent changes to the landscape include (Marshall et al, 2014: 39-40):

• by 1921, any native trees in the vicinity of the Woolshed had been cleared with some shelter belt plantings of willow and poplar being introduced;

• horse jumps and other equestrian features constructed within the study area, initially from the 1960s and continually updated, changed and moved;

• native and exotic tree plantings, 1960s-70s; • other plantings, after early 1970s, eg. small island plantings along Yarralumla Creek; • major earthworks along the flat areas adjacent to Yarralumla Creek from the mid-1970s through to recent

times; • shelter trees (Box thorn) for the yards north and south of the Woolshed were removed by 1976; • barbecue and picnic table installed adjacent to the Woolshed, with the barbecue subsequently removed

leaving only the concrete slab; • timber bollards installed between the access track and the Woolshed; • willows removed from the creek and some small island plantings of eucalypts undertaken, 2004-05; and • planting of over 1,300 aquatic plant species and 20 Acacia dealbata in selected positions along the creek

bank, October/November 2006.


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Shearers’ Quarters – notes on integrity from Philip Cox & Partners, 1982(p.22):

• Changes to the internal partitions for the shearers’ sleeping compartments • Extending the north and south wings to increase internal volume of sleeping compartments • Removal of most of the verandah posts • Verandah on southeast corner filled in • Doors and windows rearranged (particularly on the South wing) • New main door • Possible addition of air gap between sleeping compartments and dinning area in 1944 [presumably to

separate sleeping areas from food preparation areas as per Rural Workers Accommodation Act 1938 (6)(2)(e)] • Building is located within the 100 year flood zone • Addition of the contractors (now First Aid) room

Rouseabouts’ Quarters – notes on integrity from Philip Cox & Partners, 1982(p.29):

• windows appear to be the result of various alterations over the years

Rouseabouts’ Kitchen

• covered entrance structure has been removed • north window covered over

Additionally, the slab caretakers cottage to the southwest of the Shearers’ Quarters has been removed.


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SITE PLAN

Figure 1 Yarralumla Woolshed and Outbuildings registration boundary and features.


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Figure 2 Yarralumla Woolshed (left) and Outbuildings building (right).


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IMAGES

Figure 3 Yarralumla Paddocks 1910 - 1913 John Clarke (NLA G8984.C3G46)

Woolshed

Homestead/ Government House


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Figure 4 Yarralumla Woolshed and Outbuildings ([c.1910] The Yarralumla Estate: The property of Mr. F. Campbell. [Sydney?] : The Pastoralists' Review, p.8)

Figure 5 Floor Plan – 1989 (John Morris & Wong Sing Hijang, Marion Mahony Griffin Measured Drawing Competition, courtesy ACT Heritage Library) (from Marshall et al 2014, p.14)


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Figure 6 Yarralumla Shearing Shed Plan and Sections, 1925-30, Federal Capital Commission Source: National Archives of Australia, A2502, AB544 (from Marshall et al 2014, p.30)


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Figure 7 Extract from Plan L.103/68 drawn by Alan Wilson for the NCDC proposed landscaping for the equestrian park. Note the existing plantings highlight in green. (extracted from Marshall et al, 2014:36)


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Figure 8 Yarralumla Woolshed overview from south (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 9 Yarralumla Woolshed East elevation (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 10 Yarralumla Woolshed north elevation of east wing (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 11 Yarralumla Woolshed east elevation of north wing (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 12 Yarralumla Woolshed north elevation (ACT Heritage, 2015)


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Figure 13 Yarralumla Woolshed west elevation of north wing (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 14 Yarralumla Woolshed south elevation (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 15 Yarralumla Woolshed west elevation of south wing (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 16 Yarralumla Woolshed east elevation of south wing (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 17 Yarralumla Woolshed south elevation of east wing (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 18 Yarralumla Woolshed under floor area of east wing (ACT Heritage, 2015)


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Figure 19 Yarralumla Woolshed under floor area of south wing showing bark partitions on eastern side (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 20 Yarralumla Woolshed under floor area showing separation into pens under south wing (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 21 Yarralumla Woolshed Interior view from north wing facing south (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 22 Yarralumla Woolshed interior view of the board facing towards south door (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 23 Yarralumla Woolshed interior detail of remnant wall cladding along the board (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 24 Yarralumla Woolshed under floor counting pens visible on the west elevation of the south wing (ACT Heritage, 2015)


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Figure 25 Rouseabouts' Quarters (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 26 Rouseabouts' Kitchen (ACT Heritage, 2015)

Figure 27 Shearers' Quarters (ACT Heritage, 2015)


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REFERENCES

ACT Archives. 2015. “Walter Herbert Eddison” in Repat and Rabbits: WW1 Soldier Settlement. Updated 8 July 2015. http://www.archives.act.gov.au/repatandrabbits/walter-eddison

Banyard, M. 2011. ‘The Life of Fredrick John Young 1854 – 1943’ in Rural Fringe : journal of the Hall District. Hall Village and District Progress Association, Hall, A.C.T., 18(2) p.22.

Blair, S.; Coulthard-Clark. C. D.; and Lincoln, M. ‘They made it, Terence Murray, Gibbes and Campbells’. in Coulthard-Clark. C. D. (ed.) (1988) Gables, Ghosts and Governors-General: the historic house at Yarralumla. Allen & Unwin in association with the Canberra & District Historical Society, Sydney, pp1-42.

Clark. P. ‘Temple of a Country’s Daily Uses’. in Coulthard-Clark. C. D. (ed.) (1988) Gables, Ghosts and Governors-General: the historic house at Yarralumla. Allen & Unwin in association with the Canberra & District Historical Society, Sydney, pp152-184.

Department of the Interior (1972) Lake Burley Griffin. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Firth, D. (2000) Behind the Landscape of Lake Burley Griffin: Landscape, water, politics and the national capital 1899-1964. University of Canberra, PhD Thesis.

Libraries ACT. 2014. HMSS 0166 Eddison Family Papers. Updated 24 March 2014. http://www.library.act.gov.au/find/history/search/Manuscript_Collections/Eddison_Family.

Marshall, D.; Blair, S.; Lance, B.; Butler, G.; Pearson, M.; Phillips, M.; Navin Officer Heritage Consultants; and Sharwood, C. 2014. Yarralumla Woolshed Conservation Management Plan. Report for ACT Property Group – Territory and Municipal Services Directorate.

National Capital Development Commission (1965) Eighth Annual Report, 1 July 1964 to 30 June 1965. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Philip Cox & Partners (1982) Yarralumla Woolshed & Outbuildings Conservation Management Plan. Report for The Department of Transport & Construction, ACT.

Roberts, A. ‘Half Hotel’. in Coulthard-Clark. C. D. (ed.) (1988) Gables, Ghosts and Governors-General: the historic house at Yarralumla. Allen & Unwin in association with the Canberra & District Historical Society, Sydney, pp43-65.

Wilmot, M. R. 2004. HMSS 0356 – Draft History of Government House, Canberra (3 June 1934-16 December 2004).

Welch. P. 2012. ‘Louisa Cunningham, nee Leeman’. Our House (Museums). ACT Museums newsletters, Canberra, Spring 2012, pp.2-3.

http://www.archives.act.gov.au/repatandrabbits/walter-eddison

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION YARRALUMLA WOOLSHED AND OUTBUILDINGS … · 2016-09-20 · November 2015 . 1 . BACKGROUND INFORMATION . YARRALUMLA WOOLSHED AND OUTBUILDINGS (Blocks 1144 and